Extra $10b 'last chance' for reef

by dburdon

Daniel BurdonDaniel Burdon is APN Australian Regional Media's Canberra bureau reporter, covering federal parliament and politics. He was previously a rural and general news reporter at the Morning Bulletin in Rockhampton and worked in Alice Springs for the Centralian Advocate.

AN EXTRA $10 billion is needed to help the Great Barrier Reef deal with the irreversible impacts of climate change.

A study published in the Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science journal yesterday called for the Federal Government to commit the extra funds to improving water quality on the reef.

The lead author, James Cook University water quality expert Professor Jon Brodie, said it was the last chance the reef had to be able to adapt the existing impacts.

While progress had been made with the $2 billion committed over the next 10 years, he said, the extra $10 billion over that period was needed to cut water pollution to allow the reef to recover and adapt.

Australian Marine Conservation Society reef campaigner Imogen Zethoven said the reef was close to the brink of what it could tolerate.

"This federal election is an historic opportunity for political leaders to take heed and act decisively to stop its destruction," she said.